The Australian state and Indigenous people 1990-2006

Abstract

This article examines the changing ways in which the Commonwealth government has addressed its Indigenous ‘problem’ over the last 16 years. The essence of the problem is that Commonwealth governments of any sort need to be seen to be active in addressing Indigenous poverty and marginalization but are unwilling to make a commitment sufficient to make a fundamental difference since there is little electoral advantage (and much electoral risk) in doing so. Accordingly the ‘problem’ is resolved at the level of rhetoric. The rhetorics of the Hawke/Keating and Howard governments are compared, and the conclusion is that the former was benevolent but hollow while the latter is both hollow and pejorative.